Apple Adds Internet-free Local Dictation To Mavericks

TUAW’s Mel Martin notes that there hasn’t been any fanfare, but if you’re using Mavericks, you now have a universal dictation feature that doesn’t require an Internet connection. Mavericks users will now find what Apple calls “enhanced dictation,” and if you turn it on, you’ll need to download about an 800 MB file that makes your speech recognition local rather than server-based as it was in Mountain Lion. No training is needed and once you have the files, it works right away, with your dictated words appearing on the screen in near real time. If you preferred the old method, it still works too.

This is huge for those of us who like or even perhaps depend on dictation software.